


Sick Days

by Marcii_Winters



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Dreams and Nightmares, Ed is 16-17, M/M, Oblivious, Sick Character, Sickfic, sorta domestic, super gay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:33:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26149498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marcii_Winters/pseuds/Marcii_Winters
Summary: When Ed ignores some helpful brotherly advice, he finds himself very sick and, due to the demands of their job, Alphonse cannot take care of his brother. Who better to take care of him than a particular procrastinating Colonel with nothing but time on his hands?
Relationships: Edward Elric/Roy Mustang
Comments: 1
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, y'all. Instead of working on my new projects, I decided to go back to an old fic I posted on FFN and fix some of the things in this that I wasn't really happy with. I've finished the first three chapters, the latter of which has the most changes, and I'll be hopefully working on finishing the last three soon. (It's still not super satisfactory but I don't feel like completely re-writing it so please excuse me if the pacing or wording is off.)

The sun slowly rose to light up the night sky, it's bright rays illuminating the previously dark city and finding its way in between the curtains of a certain alchemist. Edward groaned and his eyes fluttered open, the light bearing down on his face causing him to blink until his vision had adjusted.

He sat up in bed and yawned softly, letting the blankets falling from his chest down to his waist. Edward turned his bleary eyes to look out the window in time to see the sun duck behind a collage of clouds. He smiled softly and let out a loud groan as he stretched his limbs.

Alphonse, who had been downstairs attempting to cook for his older brother, made sure the food was properly prepared before he went up to check on Ed.

"Brother, are you awake?" His squeaky, echoed voice sounded through the door as he reached the top of the stairs. He opened it without waiting for an answer and found his brother sitting up in bed and staring out the window.

"Yeah," Ed acknowledged, his voice soft and thick from sleep. "Looks like it's going to rain today. We'd better finish this report up so we can get back."

Alphonse nodded and walked over slightly. "I made you breakfast, brother. You should eat first."

Ed's silently content smile widened at that and he quickly pulled the covers off of his legs, freeing his one human leg from its warmth. "Alright, I'll write up the report while I eat and you can go buy our train tickets."

Al nodded again as Edward sauntered past him, both of them slowly moving downstairs where a simple plate of pancakes sat waiting for him. "Oh, I love pancakes!"

Al chuckled softly at his reaction and moved towards the door. "I'll go get the tickets now. I won't be long." Al opened the door of their hotel room and Ed followed to watch him leave, both siblings stepping outside.

"Make sure you get the right tickets! Mustang's at Central Command for whatever reason!"

Al shook his head at that and started down the sidewalk. "I know that! Go back inside, you'll get sick," he warned before disappearing around the corner of their hotel. Almost as soon as Edward was finally alone, he felt small droplets of water start to fall before it instantly became a downpour.. Ed found that he didn't really mind though. He looked up at the sky and smiled softly, the water bearing heavily down on him.

"Looks like I was right."

The young alchemist stood there for probably much longer than he should have before he walked back inside and dried himself off with towel. Ed sat down at the table where his breakfast was still waiting for him and slowly began eating as he read through the rough draft of his report.

After about a half hour of working, Al returned with their tickets to Central City and Ed had finalized his report. The elder brother stood from his seat and grabbed his red robe, pulling it on rather dramatically. They grabbed their luggage that sat next to the door and made walked out into the pouring rain.

"Let's go see that bastard," Ed mumbled.

-18Hours later-

When the two brothers finally arrived Central City, the sun was already setting and the street lights flickered on dimly. Ed groaned and sniffled as he stepped out of the train carriage, stretching his arms after such a cramped ride.

"Well, I'm sure that bastard went home already so we might need to find a place to sleep," he mused, slowly making his way out of the station. It was then that Ed had an idea. "Actually, let's see if they'll let us turn this in to a lower officer. If I can avoid seeing Mustang altogether, I will be a very happy man."

Al sighed and nodded softly before following after him. "I really don't understand why you hate him but whatever."

Both Elrics forwent a taxi and instead chose to walk all the way to the large military base in the center of the city. It took them nearly an hour before they finally found themselves standing in front of the large gate. They made their towards the entrance and were greeted by two burly guards standing out front. After a misunderstanding about them entering, Ed simply flashed his State Alchemist's pocket watch and he was let inside with multiple apologies.

Ed walked into the building grumbling about being mistaken for a kid before they reached the front desk. The soldier stationed there welcomed them to Central Command before he politely asked how he could help them.

"Is there any way I can hand in my report without having to see my 'superior'?" Ed mocked.

The soldier cracked a smile and he shook his head gently. "I'm sorry, it's protocol around here to only hand in reports to your superior. Things tend to get lost in the hustle and bustle of this place and that leads to a lot of problems."

Ed sighed and nodded softly in understanding. "Fine. Any free bunks we can take for the night? Really don't feel like staying in another shitty hotel."

"Of course, one sec." The soldier turned in his chair and called to a woman behind him to escort the pair of alchemists to a free room.

Once inside, Ed performed his nightly routine of showering, brushing his teeth, and oiling his automail before he crawled into one of the beds. Alphonse turned off the light and went to sit by the window as Ed slowly drifted into a peaceful sleep.

When he woke up again the next morning, he couldn't help but notice just how awful he felt. His head was throbbing, his nose was both runny and stuffed at the same time, and his throat hurt. Alphonse took one look at his brother once he sat up and gasped.

"Brother! Are you alright? I told you you'd get sick!" Al placed his hand on his brother's forehead before he realized he couldn't feel his temperature and called for the nearest officer outside. Funny enough, it just so happened to be Maria Ross and she too gasped upon seeing the sickly pale man in bed.

"Al, don't make it a big deal. I'm fine, I'm fine," Ed dismissed.

Maria placed the back of her hand to his forehead and shook her head. "You are not okay, you're burning up, Edward!"

Ed sighed softly and grabbed his report, pushing past them towards the door. "I need to work. I have a report to turn in and a new assignment to pick up." Maria immediately grabbed his hand and pulled him back, taking the report from him and holding above his head.

"I'll hand this in to Colonel Mustang for you. You just rest. Al, you come with me so you can pick up your new assignment," she said and walked out of the room quickly, effectively leaving him no chance to argue. Alphonse stared dumbly at how easily she shut Ed down before he followed after her.

Ed just groaned and decided using his weak limbs to chase them down wasn't worth it. He fell back onto the bed with an 'oof' and pulled the blankets over himself, instantly falling back asleep.

Meanwhile, Alphonse and Maria made their way to Colonel Mustang's office and walked inside. Roy stood up, a slight glare aimed at them.

"Don't you know how to knock? I could've been in a meeting."

"I'm sorry, Colonel. It won't happen again. We just came to turn in Ed's report." Maria handed it to him and decided she'd let Al tell him about Ed.

"And why couldn't he deliver it to me himself?" Roy narrowed his eyes towards them.

"He's really sick. It looks like he can barely stand, and even sways when he's just sitting. I'm sorry, Colonel but I don't think we can take another assignment until he recovers."

"No, Alphonse. I already had the next assignment lined up and I need this done now. If he can't work then you'll just have to go it alone."

"W-what!?" Alphonse shook his head furiously. "No, I have to look after my brother!"

Roy sighed and sat down, rubbing his temples softly. These brothers were getting to be such a pain.

"Look, you won't even have to leave Central. There is someone here in the city that apparently been harming random civilians. No pattern, no similarities in the victims, just completely random in who he chooses. Some survivors say they saw a bright red light just before everything went to hell."

Alphonse froze slightly, faced with moral dilemma. If he didn't accept it, more people could get hurt but if he did, his brother might get worse. Ed had always had a very weak immune system and and even a common cold could lead to life-threatening pneumonia.

"We've given this case a lot of officers and they're all just stumped. You and FullMetal excel at these kinds of cases so I need you on it. If it changes your mind, I'll...look after FullMetal. I can't tell you what to since you're not directly involved with the military, but I'm sure you wouldn't want more people getting hurt."

Alphonse hesitated for a while before finally accepting. "Fine. I'll get started right now so I'll show where his room is before I head out." Al turned to leave the room and Roy grabbed his coat to follow him.

Really don't feel like babysitting but at least I have an excuse to not do any paperwork for a few days.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think some things were supposed to be italicized but it didn't come through and I'm lazy soo

Maria had requested that she at least be allowed to accompany Alphonse on his assignment and after much pestering, was finally given the go ahead. They lead the colonel into Ed's room and left quickly after grabbing a few things, eager to get this assignment over and done with.

Roy sighed and threw his coat over his shoulder before sitting down in one of the chairs. After a few minutes of soaking in the wonderful silence, Roy stood and moved towards the young sleeping alchemist. "FullMetal. Wake up."

Ed moaned in his sleep, turning over and tucking his arms into his chest. Roy moved to stand over him and shook his shoulder gently.

"FullMetal. Get up."

Ed groaned again and cracked an eye open a little. "Whaaat.."

"I've been given the task of watching over you. I'm going back home now and you need to come with me." Ed groaned again and shook his head.

"I'm perfectly fine right here. I'm not even that sick. You don't need to watch me."

"Then stand up." Roy challenged.

Ed narrowed his eyes towards him and scoffed a little. "Fine, easy. Then you need to shut up and let me sleep." He slipped off the bed slowly and after struggling slightly, he stood up completely. His body swayed back and forth and his eyes were only barely open, though that was probably due to just being woken up. Roy sighed and scooped him up.

"You can't even stand still, FullMetal. Let's go."

Ed weakly struggled, mumbling insults and making a scene. "Put me down, you bastard.." Roy ignored the younger alchemist's protestations and walked outside, quickly finding his car and (with some effort) managed to open the passenger door without putting him down. Roy gently set Ed inside and walked around to the driver's side before climbing in. He started the car and made sure they were both buckled in as they pulled away from Central Command.

Fullmetal struggled in his seatbelt but couldn't even push the button to unbuckle it. He must be really sick if he didn't even have the strength to push the release. "God dammit...I don't want to go home with you!" He weakly shouted.

Roy just shrugged and continued driving. "Well, I can't leave you at Central. Deal with it." Eventually, they stopped in front of his apartment building and he shut the car off, stepping out to help Edward on the other side. "Come on, Fullmetal. Try to walk, don't be helpless."

Edward frowned and looked up at his superior officer. "Shut up! I can walk just fine! If you're going to make me stay here, I'm not going to make it easy for you."

Mustang rolled his eyes, irritated, and hauled him inside, dropping his limp body onto the couch. "Why don't you just go to sleep. It'll be a lot quieter when you're unconscious." He mumbled, moving into kitchen and searching his refrigerator for something to eat. "Do you want something to eat before you go to bed? The colonel waited for a beat with no reply until he found himself talking to empty air. It seemed almost as soon as Ed's head hit the couch's cushion, he was out like a light and even snoring quietly. Roy grabbed the ingredients to make himself a sandwich and walked around the bar to look down upon his charge for the night.

You know, he aged really well. If he weren't such a pain in the ass, I might've taken a chance on him. The thought entered his head before he realized where his train of thought was going and his cheeks flared a deep red when it registered. He decided he'd better just go upstairs and get some rest. He must be exhausted if his mind was making observations like that.

The next morning came and Roy's alarm blared loudly. A frustrated slam shut it up and the culprit forced himself to sit up despite his grogginess. It didn't even feel like he slept all that long and now it was time to get up? What a pain. Then he remembered the blond man sleeping on his couch and that painwas even worse than waking up early. He sighed and crawled out of bed to hop in the shower, brush his teeth, put on his uniform and go downstairs to make start on some breakfast.

In the time it took Roy to do all this, Ed had woken up and had mindlessly raided the colonel's fridge, grabbing a few eggs and beginning to cook rather successfully for someone with such little experience. That was the sight Roy walked into. Ed's blonde hair wasn't in it's usual braid and fell down his back. His golden locks were wild and stuck out haphazardly and in all angles. Roy couldn't help but notice how feminine he looked. How cute.

Roy cleared his throat and walked further into the kitchen, earning the young alchemist's attention. When Ed turned to face him, Roy could see his eyes were just barely open. It looked like his body was on autopilot. "I hope you don't mind, I kind of helped myself," he mumbled. Roy nodded dismissively and moved to sit at the table.

"Think you're feeling good enough to actually walk this time or am I going to have to carry you back into Central?" He teased.

"Hey, shut up. I could've walked. I just didn't want to. I would've expected a little more respect for someone who's cooking your breakfast," Ed shot back.

"Ah, so you can be selfless and think of others. Well I suppose I could thank you for cooking but considering you're using my ingredients, I'll just call it even."

Ed rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the stove, preparing a plate for both of them before sitting down to eat once he'd finished. Ed wasted no time and immediately dug in. The colonel watched him tear into his breakfast with amusement and absentmindedly took a bite of the eggs. They weren't half bad actually. Better than his own cooking.

"Well FullMetal, you'll make an excellent house wife to a very lucky man. These are actually edible."

Ed narrowed his eyes towards him in a scowl but said nothing more, mouth too full to come up with a witty retort. Instead he finished his food and set his plate in the sink. "Tease me all you want. But you're the one cleaning after me."

After their quick breakfast, Roy drove them back to Central with Ed coming along willingly this time. They sat in silence during the drive and Roy noticed Ed was starting to look worse. His usual tan skin looked unusually pale with only he nose and cheeks showing any color, his eyes were drooping and he was still swaying. Occasionally, he would sniffle and cough, tucking his face into his elbow to cover his mouth.

"FullMetal. I think you need to see a doctor. You look a lot worse." Ed shook his head slightly, being as stubborn as ever.

"I'm not going to a doctor, it's just a cold. It'll pass."

"I didn't need to ask. I figured it'd be polite considering you made me breakfast this morning. You're going to get a check up if I have to carry you there." Roy was not going to argue about this. Despite their perceived hostility, he did care about his charge and didn't like seeing him so miserable.

They soon arrived at Central Command and Roy led Ed towards the infirmary. The nurse there called him up to her table and took his blood pressure, temperature, and other basic vitals. She decided she'd need to run some blood tests and the minute Ed saw the needle, he ran out of there so fast, you'd swear he left skid marks. Luckily, being sick had handicapped him enough for Roy to catch and hold him still while they drew the blood.

It took an hour for the results to come back and they were relieved to find out it wasn't pneumonia, despite the very similar symptoms. The nurse consulted a small folder that held Ed's test results. "It seems you have the flu, Ed. I'm going to prescribe some anti-biotics that you'll need to take once a day for two weeks. Sound good?" Ed only nodded, a pout still on his lips from being forced to endure the needle.

It soon started to dawn on Roy. Ed made him breakfast this morning and he carried the brat in last night. Suddenly, Roy sneezed.

Oh no.


	3. Chapter 3

Roy and Ed were driven back to the colonel's home after the former was given a dose of cold & flu medicine. Apparently, you shouldn't drive while on cold medicine. They were given the day off for obvious reasons, though it was more just their CO just ordering them to 'get the fuck out'. The colonel was more than a little upset about this since he was already fairly behind on his work from yesterday and he'd probably have to dedicate a whole night just trying to catch up.

"Nice, FullMetal. Good going, " Roy muttered, unlocking the front door of his apartment once they'd been dropped off.

"Well if you'd left me alone, this wouldn't have happened! This is all on you." Ed shot back.

Roy moved into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water, tossing one to Edward as well. The fever would come on soon and they needed to stay hydrated. The colonel was soon starting to feel some minor symptoms and he moved towards the couch where he took off his coat to use as a blanket. Ed, after downing about half of his water bottle, sat on the farther side of the couch and grabbed the blanket he'd slept with that night to cover himself with. The chills were setting in and even though they both knew covering up would only worsen their fever, they did it anyway.

After a few agonizing minutes of trying to sleep it off, Roy got fed up and went into his medicine cabinet to search for some sleeping pills. If he really planned to stay up the whole night to work, he'd need his rest now. He offered one to Ed, who accepted, and they both took it together. Half an hour later had them effectively dead to the rest of world for the foreseeable future, traversing their own personal dream worlds.

Even in his sleep, Ed's thoughts were of nothing other than fixing his brother, Al. The guilt had haunted him and slowly ate away at him every day since and it pretty all but consumed his every waking and slumbering thought. Well, it used to. Being around some people made dealing with it all a little easier. Winry came to mind. Hughes, Al, even Roy sometimes. The feeling that he wasn't alone and that he could rely on people eased a heavy weight off his shoulders and never failed to make his rest that much more fitful.

Despite these wonderful people, there was only place in his dreams that provided a sense of true comfort. It was a dream of finally seeing his younger brother's real face, of watching him enjoy himself unrestricted and seeing the smile that had always reminded him so much of his mother. In this dream, they are both attending a party at the East City military base, surrounded by every single one of his loved ones. His mom is there, smiling and holding his hand-his right hand that was no longer automail.

Maes is on his left side, a proud hand resting on his shoulder and a wide grin stretching across his face. Of course, Gracia is standing right next to him holding Elicia with a fond expression on her face as she looks down between him and her husband. Winry is getting after him for one reason or another, waving around a wrench with wild abandon and all Ed can do is smile. Pinako is working in the kitchen, making a loud fuss and Major Armstrong is flexing and sparkling the way he always does. Teacher and Sig are almost beaming as they look at each other and Ed notices that Izumi is holding a small baby girl protectively in her arms. It's her baby. The one she thought she lost. The happiness of that knowledge almost brings the young man to tears.

Hawkeye and the rest of her group were drinking and laughing as they all played with Black Hayate, tossing food high into the air and watching him catch it. He found it strange that Roy wasn't here. Sure, they fought a lot but he genuinely enjoy being around the guy. I mean, if it wasn't for him constantly sticking his neck out for him, Ed would be much farther away from actually helping his brother. Roy gave him the means, opportunity, and freedom to do what he needs to do. Roy constantly showed his support through his actions and honestly, it was also really fun teasing him. He'd never admit it but Roy had become someone pretty important to Ed over the years. It's why he went out of his way to avoid him most times. He wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong idea.

The weirdest part about this dream was that there was always a man in shadows standing at the back of the room and watching them. Some guests interacted with him, even acted friendly towards him, but the man never moved from his spot. His voice sounded strangely familiar yet foreign at the same time. Whoever that man was, he seemed to be staring at Ed quite often. It should've felt creepy, wrong, uncomfortable...but it didn't. Instead, he felt safe. As if he were watching over him rather than eye-fucking him.

These dreams were a pretty regular occurrence and it always left lingering feelings of wanting someone like that man. Typically, he fooled himself into thinking of them as a parental figure or a mentor. Someone who would look out for him and be able to handle his outbursts and wild personality. Someone who's mere gaze could make him feel safe and happy and cared for. Someone he didn't have to put up a front for. Of course, he knew it was only a dream. That's all it would ever be.

The Colonel's dreams on the other hand, were more nightmarish. They were flashbacks of the Ishvalan war and the terror he'd caused. The copious amounts of deaths he witnessed, the faces of the people whose lives he had taken, and the crackling of the fire that burned the flesh of his so called enemies. He could, and most likely would, go his entire life never forgiving himself for what he did on that battlefield. The graphic scenes were always looped, replaying multiple times over and over in his head exactly as it happened. However, this time, during a fairly less graphic memory, as he looked over the burning buildings of the war-torn city, something strange happened. In the middle of the battlefield stood the silhouette of what appeared to be a woman. The sun behind her cast enough shadow that her face wasn't visible. She was small in stature and she wore what looked to be a red dress that flowed in the gentle breeze. Roy could make out what looked to be golden hair and something glinted on her left hand. Perhaps a ring, he presumed. They stared at each other, neither daring to speak, simply gazing at each other while Roy's comrades passed by her seemingly without even acknowledging her presence. She must visible only to him. In that moment, all the horrors of war faded. The sound of gunfire became more and more distant. Explosions no longer rattled the earth. The Colonel's heavy heart seemed to lose it's weight. He knew without a doubt, this was the woman he was meant to be with. If only he knew who she was.

Roy was the first to wake up a few hours later, noticing the weight across his lap. With groggy eyes, he looked down to see that Ed had sprawled himself out on the couch, his legs boldly stretched across him like he was an ottoman. Roy stood and the teen's legs slid off. The slight movement caused Ed to stir a little but he quickly gave back in to the warm embrace of sleep.

Roy realized he was sweating due to the fever and the additional heat from his coat so he decided he'd take a cool shower to hopefully bring his temperature down. He made his way upstairs and into the bathroom, slowly undressing as he turned on the water and stepped inside.

The whole shower took less than twenty minutes and by the time he stepped out, he was already feeling better. His body wasn't as achy, his face had regained some of it's original color, and even his sinuses felt cleared up. It seemed like his fever had gone down a little, though he still didn't feel a hundred percent. Roy dried himself off and walked into his bedroom where he changed into a set of regular civilian clothes. A simple black t-shirt with jeans. Afterwards, he made his way downstairs and sighed as he sat back on the couch. Although he knew he should start catching up on his work, the procrastinator in him surfaced and convinced him that there wasn't that much that needed to be done and he could finish it all when his sick leave was over.

Roy glanced over at Ed, who was still asleep and cocked his head to the side a little. He was so much less annoying in his sleep and although it looked like his brow was still furrowed, Roy couldn't help but notice how cute the younger alchemist looked.

And just like that, Roy turned his head away and scolded himself again for thinking like that again. Ed was much too young and the fact that he knew he wasn't calling him cute in a parental sort of way prompted more self scolding. Even if his age wasn't a factor, FullMetal acted like such a brat when he was awake that he honestly didn't know if he could handle that on a daily basis. Not to mention, he's a boy for Christ's sake. Well, closer to a man but still firmly of the male gender. He reminded himself of all this and started to settle down a little.

Ed suddenly started to fidget and moan causing Roy to curiously look at him again. At first it looked like Ed might've been dreaming of something inappropriate and Roy's cheeks flushed again. However, it soon became abundantly clear that he was having a nightmare and Roy decided he had to wake him. The raven walked over to pale blonde lying on his couch and leaned down to lightly try to shake him awake.

"FullMetal. FullMetal, wake up." He whispered. Ed was unperturbed. The longer Roy attempted to wake him, the more uncomfortable he seemed to get. He even tried to shake Roy's hand off his shoulder. The Colonel continued trying to shake his young charge awake, calling his name a little louder and trying to convince him that he was only dreaming but to no avail. Ed was starting to squirm a little more violently until suddenly he bolted upright without warning and their heads collided with a hard thud. Roy fell back onto the floor and Ed slumped back into the couch, both of them cradling their heads and groaning in pain.

Roy picked his head up, glaring a little at Ed. "Again, nice going, FullMetal!"

"Why the hell were you so close, then?" Ed groaned.

"I was trying to wake you up, you were freaking out. What the hell were you dreaming about?"

"None of your damn business, okay?"

Ed sat up and noticed how hot he felt, immediately pushing the blankets off of him. The clash of their heads wasn't helping the headache that had begun to form and he rubbed his temples to try and soothe it.

Ed stood up shakily and walked to the fridge where he opened the freezer door to look for something to use as an ice pack. However, upon feeling the cool air, he stuck his head inside with a sigh of relief and let the cool air ease his fever and headache.

"Get out of my freezer, FullMetal." Roy called, slowly getting his feet as well. "Go take a cold shower or something, I have food in there I don't want you to infect."

"Fine." Ed reluctantly pulled his head out of the freezer and walked upstairs where he knew the bathroom to be and locked the door. He turned on the cold water and ended up taking much longer than the twenty minutes that Roy used to fully shower.

His shower had given Roy time to start making lunch. Now alone and in peace, he reflected on the dream he'd had and thought about that phantasmal woman. Somehow he felt like he knew her. If only he'd seen her face. It was the first time she'd ever appeared to him but he knew he needed to find her.

Finally, after an astonishing few hours, Edward finished his shower and came back downstairs wearing his red coat like it was a robe. His bare ankles showed that Ed wasn't wearing pants, most likely deciding to put his clothes in the wash so he wouldn't have to wear the same dirty thing for another day. Roy turned to look back at him when he walked into the kitchen and decided not to point out how much time he took in there. Instead, he took notice of his long hair once again free from it's elastic 'prison'. The matted blonde locks seemed to glow more than usual and his skin was no longer pale. He took notice of his attire, or lack thereof, and was forced to turn back to the stove to shield his blush.

"I put my clothes in your washing machine." Ed proclaimed, his own cheeks dusted a light pink. Obviously he wasn't very comfortable letting him know that he did not have clothes underneath his makeshift robe.

Roy shook his head to show he was fine with it and in his attempts to keep his thoughts off Ed, he failed to make the connection to the woman in his dream that hadn't actually been a woman.

"Now who's the housewife?" Called Ed from the door frame, successfully steering the conversation away from his embarrassment.

Roy chuckled dryly and rolled his eyes, braving a glance back at him to answer, "You look more feminine than I do right now, FullMetal." He said, gesturing to his current appearance.

"I do not! I look very manly! You can't braid damp hair! Do you know the damage you could cause by doing that!?" Ed started to realize how feminine that sounded coming out of his mouth but where people thought he lacked hygiene, he proved them wrong every time.

Roy just kind of chuckled again but kept silent, finally finishing preparing their lunch and moving to serve them both. He wasn't a very good cook so he made something fairly simple and even good for someone with the flu. He'd made chicken noodle soup to help with their symptoms and poured himself some tea. Ed stuck to water and they ate in silence for a good while until they both finished.

Roy stood up to go put the dishes away and was immediately hit hard by a startling wave of dizziness. He reached for the counter to steady himself and took a few deep breaths. Ed noticed his swaying and asked him if he was alright.

"I don't know." He tried again to walk towards the sink but again he felt the wave of dizziness and Ed moved over to help him.

"Come on, let's get you to the couch." Roy left the plates on the counter and Ed helped him over to the couch where the older man dropped onto like a sack of potatoes. The younger alchemist placed his left hand to Roy's forehead to check for a fever.

"Wow, you're burning up." It was odd to see Ed look like he cared. Usually, his kindness was only reserved for his younger brother. It was more a welcoming gesture than he knew.

Ed moved back into the kitchen to grab a rag and a bucket of ice water. Once he'd filled the bucket, Ed dunked the rag, wrung it out and placed it on his superior's head. He did a little snooping around and found the number of a doctor who lived a few towns over. It seemed his primary care physician was back in East City. Ed dialed the number and the phone rang twice before someone picked it up. Ed spoke with a doctor, explaining Roy's symptoms but unfortunately, it was pouring rain where the doctor lived and flash floods would prevent him from seeing them until at least tomorrow afternoon. Looks like Ed would be playing babysitter until then. Great.


End file.
